To say that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy didn’t have the easiest time earning his current job title would be a major understatement.
Skeptical conservatives refused to give the establishment elite the votes he needed until concessions to limit his power were agreed to and the gambit may have paid off.
Now Matt Gaetz left everyone stunned after he gave Speaker Kevin McCarthy his first report card.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was one of the primary conservative holdouts, who refused to give Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) the votes he needed to become Speaker of the House last month.
Eventually, in the 15th round of voting, Gaetz voted “present,” which allowed McCarthy to win the Speakership with a lower threshold of support.
But now, Rep. Gaetz is singing Speaker McCarthy’s praises, saying that he gives the top establishment Republican in the House “an A for his work so far” in the new session of Congress.
“I would give Speaker McCarthy an A for his work so far at the beginning of the 118th Congress, and we are in possession of far more tools that will help us get to those policy outcomes that we want,” Gaetz said. “Look, I want strong borders. I want budgets that balance. And I want bureaucrats held in check. And now, as a result of what we went through in early January, we have the tools to evaluate spending legislation — not all together at once in some 4,000-page bill, but in individual appropriations bills.”
“We can offer cuts to the salaries of specific bureaucrats if they’ve turned against the people,” he added. “And we have a special subcommittee, which I’m proud to serve on, that will focus on the weaponization of this government against our people.”
Gaetz was particularly happy that the Republican-led Congress voted to end the COVID national emergency.
“It seems crazy to continue to spend nearly half a trillion dollars that we could otherwise repatriate to the national treasury,” Gaetz explained. “And when it comes to policy changes, I’m for work requirements. Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton were able to make a deal around ‘Welfare to Work’ that increased labor participation, it drove economic growth, and it got people off the dole and off the couch. That should be something that Republicans and Democrats should be able to work together toward.”
Rep. Gaetz wasn’t alone in his positive assessment of McCarthy though, as another Republican holdout gave the House Speaker similarly high marks.
“He’s doing a great job,” Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) said. “He is reflecting the conservative core of the conference. He’s doing and saying the right things and we’re united as a conference behind him.”
All that’s music to the ears of Republicans and Independents eager to turn the page against the overreaches of President Joe Biden and Democrats.
Here’s to hoping for a unified front to change the way Washington, D.C. is now being run in the 2024 Presidential contest.
U.S. Political Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
